The Army captain from Manhattan who is defying deployment to Iraq has won the first round of his fight not to fight.Capt. Jay Ferriola, who was supposed to report for 18 months of military police duty at 7 a.m. today, was granted an 11th hour reprieve yesterday while the Army reviews his retirement request.
Ferriola, 31, took the Army and U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to federal court on Friday, claiming the mobilization orders amounted to "illegal servitude" because he'd submitted retirement papers on June 7.The Army agreed to temporarily suspend his orders pending a review, for the moment averting a legal battle with possible implications for reservists caught in the so-called backdoor draft.
"We're very pleased. ... I'm extremely optimistic that the Army will rule in our favor," said Ferriola's attorney Barry Slotnick, standing outside federal court in Manhattan yesterday with his stone-faced client, whom he referred to as the "former captain."
Ferriola, wearing a gray suit and red tie and accompanied by his girlfriend and several Army buddies, declined to answer reporters' questions, saying his lawyer would comment for him.Although Ferriola's resignation was approved by his direct superior, Slotnick said the captain has "nothing in writing acknowledging his resignation" and "nothing in writing rejecting his resignation" from higher-ranked officials.
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